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Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus - Lyle Zapato
Grades
6 to 12
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1 Comments
This site is the perfect example of false information that you can find on the Internet! Learn all about the endangered tree octopus and efforts to keep them from extinction ...more
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This site is the perfect example of false information that you can find on the Internet! Learn all about the endangered tree octopus and efforts to keep them from extinction at this very realistic "fake" site. Read all about the characteristics of the tree octopus including habitat, reproduction, and why it has become endangered. View some of the activities such as a trick or treat box to collect candy to hang in trees for the octopus. Peruse pictures of rare sightings of the octopus. The falsehoods shown on the site, such as the inclusion of other hoax species and organizations (mixed with links to pages about real species and organizations) are sure to give you a chuckle!
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creative writing (120), evaluating sources (13), internet safety (110), literacy (98), media literacy (93), satire (5)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on finding credible sources. Share this tool on a projector or interactive whiteboard. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning about analyzing Internet resources (and even fake news) using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration. You may want to share the Wikipedia and Snopes articles about the Tree Octopus. What a great creative writing idea this is! Have your students try their hand at something like this. Use one of the web page making tools reviewed by TeachersFirst here, to publish the creative writing assignments. Invite other classes to vote on the one they think is true.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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The World Cup of Everything Else - Wall Street Journal
Grades
6 to 12
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0 Comments
Discover "how the tournament would play out if 32 countries were competing in things other than soccer." This site compares world countries statistics on scores of topics, instantly...more
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Discover "how the tournament would play out if 32 countries were competing in things other than soccer." This site compares world countries statistics on scores of topics, instantly drawing a "bracket" of the top 32 countries for that statistic around the world. Find out which country "wins" in categories as diverse as milk consumption, population density, or ticket sales for the movie Frozen! Click the topic at left to display the "bracket" instantly. Try predicting who will win as you check out all kinds of topics.
tag(s): cross cultural understanding (148), demographics (13), statistics (110)
In the Classroom
This site would fit well in a world cultures/social studies class or even as part of an information literacy lesson. Math teachers can use it to show the usefulness of statistics. World language teachers may want to include it as part of cultural study. Share this site briefly on an interactive whiteboard or projector to spark discussion about what statistics can tell you about a country. Then turn groups loose to predict the outcomes of the "competition" in various categories. Have them keep a record: What do they predict? Why? Were they right? What might be the possible reasons for the "winner" (or loser) in the category they chose? What other statistical competitions would they like to see to gain the best profile of a country? As a class, try to name the top ten most revealing statistics they would like to see that are not already listed here. Then have them look for sources where they might find that information! Extend the findings by having student groups create infographics about their chosen "world cup" topic. Use a tool such as Venngage reviewed here. In a government class, use this site to open discussion about the role of statistics in governing and meeting the needs of your citizens. For more demographics resources, try these or Knoema, a worldwide data source.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mental Floss - Felix Dennis
Grades
6 to 12
5 Favorites
1 Comments
Discover "random, interesting, amazing facts, quizzes, and trivia" at Mental Floss. This magazine-style offering features new posts daily on topics from science, history, culture, and...more
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Discover "random, interesting, amazing facts, quizzes, and trivia" at Mental Floss. This magazine-style offering features new posts daily on topics from science, history, culture, and more. For example, read about 6 Articles of Clothing That Caused Riots! Access the archives via the ALSO ON MENTAL FLOSS links near the bottom of the page for even more offerings. Any reader is guaranteed to learn something new and come away wanting to learn more. Find answers to imponderables or odd thoughts. Sections include Innovations, Words, Lists, and Quizzes with subareas for history, science, pop culture, etc. Click Videos to visit Mental Floss's YouTube channel or related videos. Articles are quick tidbits that invite you to share and learn. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animals (268), famous people (20), grammar (141), quizzes (83), trivia (18)
In the Classroom
Share Mental Floss on your class web page in any science, history, health, or reading class in middle school and up. Use it as a place for students to discover research topics related to your subject or as prompts for blog posts to get kids writing about something that interests them. Make a regular extra credit offering for students to write a blog post responding to something they learn here. If you have trouble getting students to read informational text, use these factoids as introductions to draw their interest before offering a longer article. Use these articles as starters for information literacy activities. Have partners research to find a corroborating (or debunking) source for the trivia offered here. English teachers will love some of the quick articles on misused or frequently misspelled words. Invite your students in any subject to find an article related to your subject and to create a poster version of that tip or tale using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here).Comments
Awesome for so many topics. Blog post ideas! Love the layout and diversity.Patricia, NJ, Grades: 6 - 12
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US Digital Literacy - US DIgital Literacy
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
US Digital Literacy is a comprehensive informational site to help better deliver digital literacy information to students. Help to prepare your students to understand and use information...more
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US Digital Literacy is a comprehensive informational site to help better deliver digital literacy information to students. Help to prepare your students to understand and use information in multiple formats from a broad range of sources. Students need to be able to read, and interpret media, reproduce data and images, evaluate, and apply new knowledge from digital environments. Learn how to use the tools, promote responsible digital citizenship, while providing a framework to access, analyze, and create new information. Under Digital Toolkits find information about digital citizens, web 2.0, augmented reality, social bookmarks, wikis, images and creative commons, keyboarding practice, and mobile learning communities. For your own use, find professional learning networks, adaptive learning systems, learning management systems, project based learning, and STEM and STEAM. The Twenty-first- Century Skills section gives background in the Common Core, core subjects, learning and innovative skills, information and media literacy, and life and career skills. Instructional Strategies provide information for classroom management, activating strategies, vocabulary strategies, cognitive growth strategies, organizing strategies, summarizing strategies, and assessment types. Information regarding thoughtful technology leadership includes videos to promote conversations and challenges for your school website. Each section includes interesting and informative videos. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
tag(s): augmented reality (7), professional development (331)
In the Classroom
Become your school's technology guru. Find information to explore, try and share a piece at a time. Easily locate information to lead you to becoming a 21st century educational technology teacher (and leader). Be sure to document your professional growth as part of your yearly teacher evaluation. Present information at staff meetings to promote growth within your school. Explore various sections of this site to share with your class. Sign up for the newsletter to discover the latest information and resources.
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Elementary Science Resource Kit - Tech4Learning
Grades
1 to 8
1 Favorites
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Meet Science and Common Core English Language Arts standards using these seven ready-made project plans. Study biomes, the life cycle of a butterfly, the solar system, animals, and...more
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Meet Science and Common Core English Language Arts standards using these seven ready-made project plans. Study biomes, the life cycle of a butterfly, the solar system, animals, and famous inventors. While learning about the famous inventors, also learn the value of scientific thinking! Build thinking skills with the challenging culmination piece. These range from creating riddles to creating brochures and journals. All units include step by step directions, Science Content Standards (NSES), ELA Common Core Anchor Standards, and NETS. In addition, there is a list of resources to use and a suggestion for assessment. You MUST register to view the lessons. To register simply give your name and email, and download all seven of these units for free!
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animal homes (58), animals (268), biomes (113), butterflies (11), famous people (20), inventors and inventions (70), life cycles (20), planets (107), scientific method (47), scientists (61), solar system (102)
In the Classroom
Immerse students in hands-on, inquiry projects with these seven plans. Introduce them on your interactive whiteboard or projector and select a class project to complete. Have student groups choose a topic to research. Created for grades 1 to 5, with one for 5-8, any of the plans could be adjusted to fit any of these grade levels. The science kit lesson plans are free, and so are some of the resources they suggest using, such as Pics4Learning, reviewed here. However, the Pixie and Wixie program that the lesson advises using is not free. Instead, use QwikSlides, reviewed here, or RawShorts, reviewed here. Be sure to bookmark these units for future use.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes - Lowell Milken Center
Grades
5 to 12
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The Lowell Milken Center discovers, develops and communicates the stories of Unsung Heroes who have made a profound and positive impact on the course of history. Click Programs on the...more
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The Lowell Milken Center discovers, develops and communicates the stories of Unsung Heroes who have made a profound and positive impact on the course of history. Click Programs on the top menu and select Unsung Hero Projects to learn about everyday people who became heroes by standing up to adversity in their lives. Each project features information about the hero and the storyteller. Some projects include links to student-created web pages and videos. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. Start your own Unsung Hero project using the ten steps provided to include inspiration from start to finish.
tag(s): character education (77), heroes (20), Project Based Learning (14)
In the Classroom
Share stories from the Unsung Heroes project on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Discuss traits that make a hero and find inspiration to search for heroes in your everyday lives. Use this site as a starting point for individual or group projects. All types of classes can complete a project about an unsung hero. P.E. classes can find out about veterans, surfers, or car accident victims who have lost limbs and used their challenges to make a difference. Math and science students can complete an Internet search for high school inventors. Students could also search through old Scholastic Scope magazines for articles about young people who have overcome adversity. Instead of a paper and pen written biography, extend students' learning by using Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a hero they have chosen. Modify student learning by challenging them to create an annotated image of a hero including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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P.org - iParadigms, LLC & TurnItIn LLC
Grades
6 to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
Here you will find everything you will ever need to know about plagiarism and citing sources. Start with the article on the right "What is Plagiarism." Be sure to check ...more
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Here you will find everything you will ever need to know about plagiarism and citing sources. Start with the article on the right "What is Plagiarism." Be sure to check out all the categories from the left menu. There you will find lots of videos and articles regarding citing sources (explains what a citation is), why one should cite sources, how to paraphrase, how to quote material, what a footnote is, and when one should cite the source. There are several interesting videos with titles like "Everything is a Remix" and "Where Next? Integrity for the 'Real World. " This is a hot topic and definitely a site to save and share with students!
Some of the videos reside on YouTube, if your school blocks YouTube they may not be viewable on classroom computers. You could flip your classroom and have the students watch those videos at home.
tag(s): citations (34), plagiarism (32), Research (72), summarizing (17)
In the Classroom
Meet your Common Core standards for nonfiction reading using the pages at this informative site! In addition, every student who creates a report, presentation, speech, or project, in any subject, needs to know this information. Consider dividing and presenting this site with a teacher in another curriculum, so students get the idea that this is information for EVERY class. Modify learning and consider presenting the information, questions, and quizzes using a tool such as Vevox, reviewed here. Vevox will integrate with Microsoft Teams and PowerPoint, and you can have instantaeous question and answer sessions. Then you can quiz students on the information. Moreover, this program will make this text heavy, but necessary material, much more tolerable for your students. You may want to challenge your gifted and musically inclined students to create a rap highlighting the important information they learned about plagiarism and citing sources. Have them teach the rap to the rest of the class. Or enhance learning and have students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here. If you are flipping your classroom and having students to watch the videos residing on YouTube at home, you may want to use edpuzzle, reviewed here, to add your own voice or add questions within the video and hold students accountable.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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BirdSleuth - Cornell University
Grades
3 to 12
1 Favorites
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Join BirdSleuth is an inquiry-based science curriculum that engages kids in scientific study. Use real data collection and the scientific process. Study nature and discover the real-world...more
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Join BirdSleuth is an inquiry-based science curriculum that engages kids in scientific study. Use real data collection and the scientific process. Study nature and discover the real-world importance of data (entered by students and used by scientists). Search resources by grade level K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each grade level has several categories such as Kits and Curriculum units, Free Downloads, Posters, Cards, Games, & More. Some free lessons and activities are: Citizen Science Bird Quest, Feathered Friends, Investigating Evidence, HomeSchoolers' Guide to Project Feeder Watch, Evolution in Paradise, Using eBird with Groups, Explore Life Cycles Through Nesting Birds, and lots more. Kits are available for purchase.
tag(s): birds (44), environment (229), scientific method (47)
In the Classroom
Science classes come alive using BirdSleuth's free resources. Captivate students while discovering the importance of nature and our interactions with it. In gifted classes, use this idea as an example of project-based learning. Pair it with a book such as Hoot by Carl Hiaasen to include ties with literature. Use this resource to build understanding of stewardship in our environment and of man's impact on nature. Develop research and include language arts standards to document the research, study, and findings.
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Cool Kid Facts - CoolKidFacts
Grades
1 to 7
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Visit Cool Kid Facts to find information for just about anything in this world or even out of this world! Select from Geography, History, Science, Animals, and Human Body. There...more
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Visit Cool Kid Facts to find information for just about anything in this world or even out of this world! Select from Geography, History, Science, Animals, and Human Body. There are also topics in the right menu on the home page that range from Albert Einstein to Volcanoes and nearly everything else you can think of (alphabetically) in between. There are articles, videos, pictures, and quizzes, too. The videos are from various outside sources and are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.
tag(s): animals (268), australia (25), brain (51), china (61), deserts (15), earth (177), egypt (45), greek (33), heart (25), human body (90), italy (14), magnetism (34), mars (27), mexico (29), moon (68), newton (18), photosynthesis (21), rainforests (16), rome (19), sun (64), tornadoes (15), tsunamis (16), volcanoes (55)
In the Classroom
Share this site with students on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) and show them all the different subjects available. Challenge students to find a topic about which they know nothing (or barely anything). This site will give them experience reading informational text on a topic they wonder about. Partner weaker readers with others who may be able to help them read the text-heavier articles. Have students read and research individually or in small groups taking notes using a simple graphic organizer from Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers, reviewed here. Use this opportunity to teach summarizing, and citing sources. Cool Kid Facts is a great tool to build background knowledge about all sorts of topics!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Knoema - World Data Atlas - Knoema
Grades
6 to 12
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Just the facts, ma'am. Knoema's World Data Atlas provides a dizzying array of data about the countries of the world. Sort either by country (from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe), or by ...more
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Just the facts, ma'am. Knoema's World Data Atlas provides a dizzying array of data about the countries of the world. Sort either by country (from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe), or by topic (agriculture to water). Look at zoomable, color coded maps, and analyze rankings by topic. The interface is simple and direct, so if you are just looking for a statistic, you will find it quickly and easily. If you are looking at masses of authentic data to analyze or compare, you'll find that too. Click to create comparisons among any 2 to 3 countries. There is an introductory video available, hosted on YouTube. If YouTube is blocked at your school, you may need to view this video at home.
tag(s): atlas (5), data (141), infographics (51), map skills (56), maps (207), natural resources (36), resources (86), united nations (6)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this for student research, whether it be for individual country data or for comparative data by topic. Use the maps on an interactive whiteboard (or projector) to provide a visual representation of the data. This is a great source for authentic data for students to practice their analytic skills, or just to find out what the GDP of Antigua and Barbuda is. This is a resource that will see frequent use. Share it during math units on data, as well, so students have authentic numbers to "play with." Have them write their own data problems and questions for classmates to solve. Challenge your most able student to determine why two countries are so different.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers - Holt
Grades
2 to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
Interactive Graphic Organizers help to gather thoughts, visualize, understand, or organize. Find interactive graphic organizers from categories such as identifying/organizing details,...more
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Interactive Graphic Organizers help to gather thoughts, visualize, understand, or organize. Find interactive graphic organizers from categories such as identifying/organizing details, order and sequence, cause and effect, process diagrams, persuasive position support, vocabulary, and many others. The selected organizer will download in PDF format. The features of the form are: interactive form fields, highlighting, adding mark-up, commenting, and saving it all. Find accompanying teaching notes for each organizer by clicking on the link in the paragraph at the top of the page. The teacher guide has detailed lessons and suggested uses.
tag(s): concept mapping (17), graphic organizers (47)
In the Classroom
Mark this site on your class web page, put it on your task bar, and add to all student computers. Demonstrate by using and creating your customized graphic organizer. Turn it into PDF format and save or print. Get students in the habit of using graphic organizers to improve achievement, organization, and details.
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Raindrop.io - Mussabekov Rustem
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Raindrop.io is a smart bookmarking tool to "collect" online and media content. It is available as a mobile app, as a web tool, and as a browser extension for Safari, ...more
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Raindrop.io is a smart bookmarking tool to "collect" online and media content. It is available as a mobile app, as a web tool, and as a browser extension for Safari, Chrome, Opera, or Firefox. After adding the extension to your browser, a couple of clicks saves and organizes content into thematic collections. Collections can include videos, files, iamges, and other media. Watch the tour videos to see how it works. Add tags and notes, and drag and drop bookmarks between collections as you wish. Browse your collections using the search bar and keywords. Use Raindrop's social networking feature to create and share collections or find and subscribe to others' collections. Receive a weekly email digest of your bookmarks, or turn that feature off.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): bookmarks (47), collaboration (87), curation (27), DAT device agnostic tool (135)
In the Classroom
Use Raindrop.io to create a bank of resources for each content unit within your subject or your class. Have students download and use the materials you provide via Raindrop to make their own projects, complete webquests, or to learn independently. Create a separate class account for students to curate their own lists of bookmarks and resources. Use this tool to compile web treasure hunts to learn or introduce any topic within your content area. Collect links to informational texts for students to read "closely" a la CCSS. With younger students, create collections of audio books for children to view and listen to. Share simple interactives teaching colors, numbers and more for a computer center. Have students create their own Raindrop as a place to store links for a project and ask them to attach it to attach it to their final project. Share a link to your Raindrop on your class webpage. Save pictures of class activities with a Raindrop collection to share with parents. Encourage your gifted students to curate collections of media and articles above the level of current curriculum or for individual research on related topics they are interested in. Share these "advanced" collections with all students to spark personal learning.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Free Dictionary - Farlex, Inc
Grades
4 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
The Free Dictionary is much more than a dictionary; it also includes a thesaurus, encyclopedias, a literature reference library, and lots more! Browse the home page to find Word of...more
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The Free Dictionary is much more than a dictionary; it also includes a thesaurus, encyclopedias, a literature reference library, and lots more! Browse the home page to find Word of the Day, Article of the Day, In the News, Quotations, Today's Birthday and Holiday, and Hangman. Choose the Spelling Bee to test spelling skills in levels. Your ESL/ELL students can discover and "play" with English words using this site. Browse to find dictionaries for many other languages and specialized needs such as medical and legal dictionaries.
tag(s): dictionaries (47), quotations (20), thesaurus (21), vocabulary development (91), word choice (14)
In the Classroom
Set this site as the home page on classroom computers for students to read and find interesting articles and games. Create an account to customize the page to display information to suit class needs. Use information found on this site for quotes, interesting trivia, and much more. Display on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) and discuss articles and information with your class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Research Guide for Students - A Research Guide
Grades
6 to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Find a complete resource for how to write a research paper, including simple step-by-step directions, suggested resources, and ways to avoid plagiarism. This site also includes how...more
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Find a complete resource for how to write a research paper, including simple step-by-step directions, suggested resources, and ways to avoid plagiarism. This site also includes how to format a research paper, write footnotes, create endnotes, and make parenthetical references, with examples for all. There are tips for public speaking and how to use search engines.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): expository writing (32), literature (219), persuasive writing (55), plagiarism (32), process writing (39), Research (72)
In the Classroom
Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start a research project. With younger students, you may want the class to go through each step together before beginning the next step. However, let gifted students work ahead. The beauty of this site is that it is great for classroom differentiation for independent work. With older students, you may want to show them the different steps and have them start where they think they need help and share examples. Be sure to post a link to the site for students and parents to access at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Creative Routines - Info We Trust
Grades
6 to 12
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Creative Routines, a simple infographic, analyzes the self-reported daily routines of 16 creative geniuses from history. Traditional lessons on time management are so predictable. This...more
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Creative Routines, a simple infographic, analyzes the self-reported daily routines of 16 creative geniuses from history. Traditional lessons on time management are so predictable. This infographic makes creative time management personal (and more meaningful). Did they get the recommended 8 hours of sleep? Did they exercise regularly? When were they most productive? What did they do for fun?
tag(s): biographies (96), creativity (91), gifted (62), organizational skills (88)
In the Classroom
Display the infographic on an interactive whiteboard as a springboard for discussion about time management, creativity, study (or work) habits, perseverance, or multi-tasking. Surprise! Mozart spent 0 hours checking his Facebook account! The site might also be instructive in a discussion about what habits contribute to creativity or as information about the lives of famous people. Using these 16 24-hour clocks as exemplars, students can make their own "creative routines" clocks for comparison. As you talk about creativity or study skills, encourage your students to pay attention to the time of day that is best for them to generate creative ideas, write, draw, write music, etc. They may find that altering their routine can have a positive impact on both grades and creative satisfaction.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Finding Dulcinea Online Guides and Resources - Mark Moran
Grades
5 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Finding Dulcinea is a tool that selects and annotates credible, trustworthy websites into an online newspaper format. In addition to current content, the site also offers over 550 web...more
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Finding Dulcinea is a tool that selects and annotates credible, trustworthy websites into an online newspaper format. In addition to current content, the site also offers over 550 web guides providing resources for topics such as health, teacher resources, and global warming. Be sure to check out the Beyond the Headlines section of the site for in-depth looks at topics such as Why Do We Have Daylight Savings Time? View the site tour video located here to understand the set-up and how to use the site.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): careers (133), cultures (123), financial literacy (93), mental health (31), news (231), newspapers (92), religions (69), sports (76)
In the Classroom
Share articles from Finding Dulcinea with students on your interactive whiteboard when discussing current events. Create a link on classroom computers for students to read on their own. Have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings from any article using Easel.ly, reviewed here or Venngage reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NCES Kids' Zone - NCES
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
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NCES Kids' Zone offers enrichment and informational data. Explore This Day in History, updated daily. Take a poll and compare your own answers with others. Try your problem solving...more
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NCES Kids' Zone offers enrichment and informational data. Explore This Day in History, updated daily. Take a poll and compare your own answers with others. Try your problem solving skills with the mindbender. Learn (and use) the word of the day. The Dare to Compare button leads to short quizzes where you can compare your knowledge with others. You can also explore data about your local schools and libraries and even find college information. Note that the upper menus do not work in all browsers, so not all areas of the site are readily accessible.
tag(s): charts and graphs (165), probability (93)
In the Classroom
Strike an interest in your school and community by finding out where you rank. Investigate college choices. After short quizzes, have a daily comparison of your students to see how they compare in civics, economics, geography, history, mathematics, and science at multiple grade levels. Inspire students to collect data and make their own graphs about school wide topics. Have students create an online graph using ChartGizmo, reviewed here. Dig into probability problems to discover the odds.
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4 Free Photos - 4freephotos.com
Grades
K to 12
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4 Free Photos offers public domain and free stock images. Preview and download the photos at no cost. Use the search feature to find the image you are looking for. ...more
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4 Free Photos offers public domain and free stock images. Preview and download the photos at no cost. Use the search feature to find the image you are looking for. The images on this site are contributed by the photographers for open sharing under Creative Commons. Be aware, there are photos for sale (clearly labeled). Some of the links for "More Free Photos" and other ads take you to outside sites. You may want to advise students to avoid those links. Note that all uses of the photos are supposed to be accompanied by the link to the license (available on each photo's display page).
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): copyright (40), creative commons (28), images (254), photography (127)
In the Classroom
Starting a lesson on copyright? With so much social media and access to almost anything on the web, it is important to teach students about copyright and about owner's rights. Use this site to search for photos for presentations, photos, projects, or research. For your ENL/ESL students or speech/language, use the images for them to create their own visual dictionary. World language teachers can also challenge students to use images to illustrate vocabulary or accompany writing. Use images for writing prompts or even to create descriptive sentences. Have one student describe the image as another sketches the image. Now compare the described image to the real image. To find more Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Vecteezy, reviewed here, or Pikwizard, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Media Smarts - Canada's Centre for Digital and Media Literacy
Grades
6 to 12
5 Favorites
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Media Smarts is a comprehensive Canadian site devoted to media literacy and critical thinking skills for children and youth. Browse through several topics such as digital and media...more
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Media Smarts is a comprehensive Canadian site devoted to media literacy and critical thinking skills for children and youth. Browse through several topics such as digital and media literacy to explore articles related to television, Internet, and gender issues. An extensive teacher resource section offers many lessons and resources searchable by grade, topic, and media type. Download lessons in PDF format using links in the lesson description.
tag(s): media literacy (93)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site to explore and use with lessons related to digital and media literacy. Share articles on gender and body image with students. Engage students by having them create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here. Enhance learning by having students find examples on T.V. and use an online poster creator, such as PicLits, reviewed here to demonstrate examples. Give students a choice and have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Venngage, reviewed here, instead of the poster.
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Map Stack - Stamen
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
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Create highly stylized map images with this tool. This tool is very similar to the Photoshop layers palette and easily creates map layers using data already available in Open Street...more
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Create highly stylized map images with this tool. This tool is very similar to the Photoshop layers palette and easily creates map layers using data already available in Open Street Map. Create layers using backgrounds, roads, labels, and satellite imagery. Modify the layers' color, opacity, and brightness. Easily highlight or color portions of the map you want to standout. Share the image you create via Pinterest or Tumblr. Share your map image also by a link. Use precision detail with image overlays and layer effects, even creating masks for other layers. The tool can also be used to create a regular map in the colors you want. This site takes some tinkering to figure out but yields colorful and interesting maps.
In the Classroom
Use to focus on and compare resources found in various communities or geographic locations. Identify where natural resources are concentrated in the world. Compare street design in various communities, concentration of population, and more. Create artistic representations of various areas as a project. Include this tool for your tech savvy students to try as you study different types of maps. Challenge them to create a map that has traditional elements such as terrain, and also uses color and image tools to emphasize or communicate information about a location, such as toxic waste locations or musical "scenes." Art teachers can suggest this tool for students to create geo-based artworks or create images to use in Earth Day posters.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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